OP furiously walked home and went on mbworld to complain.

I'd get a camera and go back and get them to freak out on video and file complaint and when they deny they did anything bust out the video

So for some period at least you felt they treated you fairly. Sounds like either the service manager suddenly had a psychotic episode, or he actually felt threatened. I once had a sales guy come across the desk at me during a negotiation. His buddy was able to get to him and wrap him up, which was good because the guy was enormous. I thought we were just having a spirited negotiation but apparently his read was entirely different and he was offended. I did end up buying the car, although his buddy handled the sale.

Was the service manager Rafael?

Yep

This is unfortunate to read, and happening everywhere these days. I think most dealer could really care less, anyone that 'likes the dealer' is clearly brainwashed as they're all out to nickel and dime us......no exceptions.


OP: best to go elsewhere, or even better a good indy shop, good luck

It's not a question of "liking" the dealership. It's a business relationship and like any other business relationship they're either holding up their end or they're not. If not, the relationship ends.

It's really unfortunate to read your story and see the way they treated you. I would definitely inform Mercedes-Benz corporate of the situation. I'd be extremely upset. Also, I'm not sure of the area, but you're probably already in the process of finding another dealer or switching to another car company -- I know you mentioned the SQ5. I think Mercedes will definitely be interested because you're leaving the brand due to this horrible experience.

i got mine from RAB or Marin MB as it's known now. awesome people up there

It's very difficult to know what actually happened here. Obviously, the service manager had no clue regarding how to handle an irate customer. But, none of us really know what the dealer's side of this story is. How far did this go before the manager felt he had to call the police to intervene? I've been in some pretty upsetting situations with dealers and their service departments over the years, but I've never seen anything get this confrontational. At some point, if the situation was really bad, I'd just leave and file a complaint with the company. I did that recently with my Porsche after getting very poor service from the dealer, with no satisfaction from the service manager. Within hours of my complaint, I got a phone call and apology from the dealer, as well as a cash credit for my poor experience. Service since then has been exceptional.

My point is that yelling and/or arguing with the dealer directly can be negative, while talking to corporate can often gets things straightened out. Being removed by the police is not how anyone wants a situation like this to end. In any case, switching dealers is the easiest way of ending this. The dealer loses a customer, and you don't have to deal with the stress of doing business with them again. File your complaint with MB-USA, then find a dealer who wants your business.

This dealer will absolutely defend their case if Mbusa launches any type of "investigation" into what happened. Three sides to every story

certainly i side in favor of the customer but we were not there to see all this.

Curious how many times that stealership has called the police on a customer in the past

I bought my e550 from one dealer near me and they gave up on a clunky transmission. Took the car to another nearby Benz dealer and they helped me through a trade assist then a buyback ... and I didn't buy the car from them

The dealer I purchased from started being dismissive and rude and I even bought the service staff catered lunch one day while they tried to once again dismiss the transmission clunking as "normal operation" -- I got a thanks for the lunch but the car is fine

oh well

Spot on Stan, I couldn't agree more.

Life's too short to deal with this sort of crap from a car dealership, especially when there're lot's of other good choices out there.

I personally have no problem walking out the door when things go south during negotiations. I just take my business else where.

Very interesting, I purchased my car from MB of Walnut Creek and they gave me a great deal on the car (negotiating via email). My C300 has been plagued with the wrist pin recall as well as noisy door seals and wind noise and the service department has done a pretty solid job of keeping me satisfied. I dealt with Walter though, not Rafael.

Yeah, for me any post that starts with "Shocking And Horrifying Experience..." should end with "...and when I regained consciousness I realized one of my kidneys had been removed!"

This one should have been titled, "Got Into It With The Service Department".

Odd, sonic automotive owns MBZ Calabasas, where ive always gone, and I didn't get this sort of horror story from them so far!


JUst because the umbrella corp is the same, dosent mean all their staff in every office is the same cut of cloth. Bad hires are bad hires. Whether its a manager or a lotboy. Few bad apples can certain spoil the bunch


sorry man prayers for your situation to improve

The title of this thread alone is clear evidence that the OP is a princess.

I think there's a reason that I never get treated the way the OP describes. It's really pretty simple. I don't get all bent about bad service. If they can't get it right after a reasonable number of attempts, I just take my business elsewhere.
Reasonable is defined by my level of patience on any given day and can certainly vary a bit I usually tell the establishment that I'm ending the relationship and why. Of course I always tell them in a polite and respectful tone specifically how they failed to meet my expectations and how they failed to correct the problem adequately. I always frame my critique around the actions never the individual.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. Throwing a fit has never been my style. Dad cured that habit at an early age with the belt.

Definitely don't understand how you can "frame your critique around the actions never the individual." So explain to me exactly where these "actions" come from? You mean to tell me that an individual isn't supposed to be held responsible for his or her actions? Threatening to call the cops on one instance and then actually calling the cops on another are both pathetic demonstrations of poor customer service. Customers expect a certain level of decency.

I have dealt with Walter a number of times in the past and have had nothing but great experiences with him. Unfortunately, he was off both when I initially took the car in for the rattling door seals and when I was performing my lease return.

I think the focus here is that you got yourself into a position where someone was inclined to call the police about your behavior ... twice.

Most deal with such situations, holding people accountable/conflict/etc, without it ever elevating to such a scenario. You went there more than once with the same SA.

Maybe the SA was a bit touchy, maybe he didn't just like you, or maybe you went too far, who knows, because as stated, 3 sides to these type of stories.

Mike450 hit it on the head

in my experience you get more bees with honey. Yelling at someone in their own establishment doesn't make them want to work harder for me or go that extra mile. Rather I agree with the others that if they can't fix something I would go somewhere else

also if they do something good I try and go out of my way to report my satisfaction to the service manager and the gm. In this tech world, sometimes a typed and mailed paper letter to the gm cc-ing Mbusa is a nice thing to do for a department

now you mention 3 sides. Dealership, customer, and who's the third party? i'm lost

Objectivity.

yup

And I'll be the first to own it, I needed to learn the same.

Personal or professional life, it only has negative effects.

excellent points